PETERSBURG, Ill. — The pioneer vegetable gardens at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site in central Illinois are currently ripe with fruit, and the native wildflowers are in full bloom. The beautiful gardens, which boast dozens of heirloom vegetables, medicinal plants, herbs, prairie plants and others such as tobacco, cotton and broom corn, are lovingly maintained by a small, core group of Illinois State Historic Agency employees and a larger contingent of volunteers supported by the non-profit New Salem Lincoln League.

Much of the gardens’ spoils will be harvested – and some of the vegetables consumed – during a special "Pioneer Gardening at New Salem" event planned for Saturday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"The gardens are a very big part of bringing New Salem to life for visitors," said Tim Guinan, site manager for New Salem, which is located 20 miles northwest of Springfield and 2 miles south of Petersburg on the Sangamon River. The restored 1830s-era village is where the young Abraham Lincoln lived for several years; his father co-owned a general store there. Lincoln later left New Salem for Springfield, never to return to the village where he courted his first love, Ann Rutledge, and grew into a man.

"Without the volunteers, our gardens would not be in the outstanding shape that they are. They take numerous hours and a lot of work to maintain, and we only work the gardens when visitors aren’t present," Guinan said, adding that his wife, Lisa, spends 150 to 180 hours per year in New Salem’s lush vegetable gardens. Another volunteer is equally dedicated to nurturing the native wildflower gardens and other prairie plants seen at New Salem.

Ed Whitcomb, a Farm World reader who also shows championship sheep at fairs, serves as the park herdsman. Whitcomb operates a plow and harrow to sculpt and cultivate New Salem’s gardens each spring.

"We’re fortunate to have a staff herdsman that is acquainted with hooking up a harrow," noted Terry Jones, New Salem site interpretive coordinator.

Vegetables to be harvested and prepared this weekend could include Cherokee purple tomatoes, salsify, burgundy okra, cabbage, potatoes, kale, chard, beets, turnips, as well as squash and melons. After staff and volunteers harvest the food, some of it will be cooked inside one of the site’s many refurbished log dwellings.

"People come out to learn about our heirloom varietals and different crops," Guinan said of New Salem’s annual pioneer gardening showcase. "A lot of people who come from the inner city aren’t really familiar with some of the plants and are fascinated that we grow them and don’t buy them in the store."

Lincoln’s New Salem is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. The site features a campground and 475-seat amphitheater that hosts plays, musicals and pageants. Special events at New Salem include an annual hammer-in, antique farm show and music festivals, in addition to candlelight and holiday tours.

Visit the New Salem website at www. lincolnsnewsalem.com for more site information and driving directions.